Another bright side is that Jonas Gustavsson looked very sharp against the Boston Bruins, earning Detroit a 3-2 win. Then again, it’s probably not the Red Wings’ preference to play the injury-prone netminder in back-to-back games.

Howard, 29, doesn’t receive a lot of attention as an elite goalie, yet the U.S. Olympic team brass would be foolish to ignore his strong work recently. He’s been sharp in 2013-14, too, as his individual stats (.922 save percentage, 2.39 GAA) are more impressive than his 3-2-0 record.

It might not be an ideal situation, but it does allow the Red Wings an opportunity to gauge how much they can lean on Gustavsson.